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... Unfortunately, the fanatic methods used by some auteur directors to maintain their original style are sometimes misinterpreted. ... And one of these very few good auteurs is Alfred Hitchcock, perhaps the most prominent in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. You were always able to tell if a movie was directed by Hitchcock because he succeeded in preserving the same distinct visual style and thematic continuity all along. ... Viewers even accepted this as Hitchcock’s own style (torturing careless blondes onscreen), as the pattern he wished to leave throughout his films. ... Had they inspected most of Hitchcock’s motion pictures they would have stumbled on more than one pattern, which can only be installed by as masterful auteur like him. A major –yet overlooked- motif in most Alfred Hitchcock’s films is psychoanalysis or Freudian issues. Moreover, Alfred Hitchcock’s films are not just centered on feminine demeanor (how blondes flirt) or demise (how blondes die) because they are equally involved with the male protagonists.
The main reason why brilliant auteur directors like Hitchcock are misinterpreted lies within the very definition of the auteur theory. ... For instance, Hitchcock’s is concerned with the color of his actress’s dresses throughout his films because he wants the color to register a certain psychological affect and not because he is obsessed with women’s wear. This is a proper interpretation of the auteur theory and of Alfred Hitchcock, the director.
Most viewers tend to neglect the integration of psychoanalytic motifs in Hitchcock’s films. ... It was clear that Hitchcock was infatuated with Freudian theories, which were emerging to the public at the time. What can be seen as a common plot (more of a recurring theme) in most of Hitchcock’s films is the famous Oedipus complex, which Freud took a special interest in writing about. The first film to ever use this plot was Alfred Hitchcocks Spellbound. ...
Another film that depicts more of the oedipal struggle is Hitchcock’s masterpiece Psycho. ... “Jay Presson Allen, obviously following Hitchcock’s suggestions, forged a connection between Bernice and Mrs. ... Hitchcock’s intelligence as an auteur is very clear here. ... Tippi Hedren, one of Hitchcock’s actresses, accounts that: “He [Hitchcock] would sit with the writer and work with him. ...
Moreover, the Oedipus complex can be best perceived in Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt. ... There’s no doubt that a palpably recurring motif in most of Hitchcock’s films is that of the Freudian oedipal conflict. And it is evident that Hitchcock’s “keen grasp of psychology –his public’s as well as his characters’ would have impressed Freud (Gliatto et. ...
Ironically, even though Hitchcock had a “keen” passion for psychoanalysis it was this very science that was used to refute his work. Tania Modleski, another renowned critic, writes in her book “The Women Who Knew Too Much: Hitchcock and Feminist Theory” about the feminist perspective in most Hitchcock films. ... Modleski believes that Hitchcock is a misogynist and that he intently convicts and punish women for their sexuality. Modleski also believes that Hitchcock’s message to the spectator is that any women who exercises her sexuality so openly is a threat to patriarchal law and needs to be punished for it. ... Hitchcock’s original intention was the portrayal of men’s ill treatment to women. Hitchcock was actually opposed to patriarchal law. ... Hitchcock only used violence against women in his films to exhibit a phenomenon that he despised and not because misogyny was a reaction that exited in his “male identity” like Modleski likes to believe. ... Hitchcock was adept at accenting his actresses’ style and sophistication, of giving an edge to their glamour by making it more human. ... The proper interpretation of Alfred Hitchcock as an auteur would only come if one would look at his line of films and pick out the recurring events that surround women. ... And this is exactly the issue that Hitchcock wanted to bring up in all of his films.
Approximate Word count = 3229
Approximate Pages = 12.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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